Monday, December 03, 2012

2012 Asian Adventure - India Epilogue

As we flew into Delhi I made the mistake of realizing that in exactly a week I would be going home. This meant that I'd been on the road for three weeks. As the plane made its approached I suddenly felt very tired. I worried that it would prevent me from enjoying India. I can't say I was as enthusiastic as I was in China at the beginning of the trip but I did manage to enjoy India.

India had been added to the trip almost as an afterthought. We were going to China, Tibet, and Nepal. As we planned the trip I kept looking at the map and seeing just how close India was from where we were going to be. India was not at the top of either of our lists. But, after making the mistake of not also doing Turkey and Egypt when we went to Jordan, not doing India would have been a mistake.

Having said all this, India exceeded my expectations. It was crowded. It was noisy. It was dirty. Traffic was a nightmare of horse carts, camel carts, rickshaws, motorcycles, cars, and trucks, many with horns, all mashed up together. Beggars tapped at the car windows at stop lights. It was also a country of incredible architecture and beauty. A country of rich and deep history. A country and culture so different from my own. My expectations were blown away.

Yes, I was tired from all our travels up to then - a fact that mystified me as I'd been on the Camino for forty-nine days and never felt the weariness that I was starting to feel. Yes, I sweat my a$$ off almost every day in India, but when I realized just where I was and what I was seeing, I got a second wind ... or at least an extra half of a wind ... and enjoyed the wonderful things that were around me.

Oh, and I enjoyed the Indian food. I'd worried about this a lot before the trip started. Needless worry.

One last thing about India. One of the Wife's favorite little details I think. The doorman at our hotel in Delhi. He was tall ... very tall. He dressed in flamboyant white with a large white turban. He looked like a sultan from a storybook. His facial hair ... immaculately groomed and exceptional. He greeted us every day we were in Delhi and tried his best, unsuccessfully, to open the car door before we could. A touristy detail, I know, but he made me smile every time I saw him.

Pictures from India portion of our travels can be found in my 2012-07 India Google Photos album.